Monday, January 23, 2006

Roman

Sue Diaz deserves a Pulitzer Prize for the series of essays she has written about her son, Roman, who is a sergeant stationed in Iraq. Don't miss the latest:

The man, all business, introduced himself - Captain Candrian, 101st Airborne - then went on to say that our son had "sustained injuries caused by an IED." I sat down. Slowly."That's an 'improvised explosive device,' Ma'am."

No need for that extra bit of information. These days those three letters are as familiar as PTA used to be.

Above the thumping of my heart I heard Captain Candrian relate details of what he called "the incident." I switched the phone to my left hand, reached for the yellow legal pad I always keep handy, fumbled for a pen, and wrote down these words: Perforated eardrum. Peppered face. Treated at the aid station at Mamuhdiyah.